(gigaom.com) -- With WWDC around the corner, rumors about iOS 7 are flying: the software is allegedly getting a visual refresh and a few other design tweaks. Over on GigaOM Pro, our analysts are looking at the mobile OS market at large: major disruptions seem to be in store over the next 6-12 months that could knock iOS and Android off their respective pedestals. Other popular research content this week includes a look at the photo management app market, and an analyst’s take on the concept of “emergent business.”
Note: GigaOM Pro is a subscription-based research service offering in-depth, timely analysis of developing trends and technologies. Visit pro.gigaom.com to learn more about it.
Connected Consumer: Survey: How apps can solve photo management
While apps like Instagram and Twitter often steal the spotlight when it comes to photosharing, photo management – which includes sharing as well as syncing, aggregating, and storing images across multiple device – is also a growing market. Analyst Hans Hartman presents the results of a user survey on photo management apps and devices, and applies the data to an evaluation of 18 solution providers, from Cooliris to Woven. Hartman’s report analyzes the feature sets, monetization models and unmet needs that exist across this market, and posits that there is still room for improvement and innovation. “What we need,” Hartman concludes, “are smart, big data–like, location- and service- independent solutions for organizing photos.”
Mobile: Where new opportunity lies in the mobile operating system space
According to analyst Colin Gibbs, the mobile OS landscape has remained relatively stagnant, despite the fact that the mobile market at large has seen fierce battles between handset manufacturers, network operators and designers. The Android operating system and iOS have dominated the market since they were introduced six years ago, and currently claim nearly 88% of smartphone sales worldwide. But the landscape is about to undergo significant disruption: over the next 6-12 months, a new batch of mobile operating systems are coming to market, each with more sophisticated and dynamic features than either Android or iOS. Gibbs analyzes each of these new competitors, looking at the potential features and platforms that they’ll bring to both emerging and developed markets, and concludes with key takeaways for both consumers and the enterprise.
Social: Beyond social: the rise of the emergent business
In his latest thought piece, analyst Stowe Boyd considers the concept of emergence as it applies to the modern business world. Businesses (and their employees) must embrace the rapid adoption of new technologies and business practices as well as the increased speed of responding to global or economic changes. Boyd defines this as the “next generation” of business – a truly emergent organization that is prepared to deal with a volatile and complex marketplace and environment – and goes on to forecast how emergent businesses will approach and change the workplace on both macro and micro levels.
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